I was walking home with Basil and we were going to stop and buy some chicken-on-a-stick (kkochi), and I saw this decimated kkochistick, with its tiny napkin-banner blowing in the wind, stuck into a tree like the spear of some insane tribesman, leaving a warning to unwary travelers.
I took a picture with my cellphone.
Today was “first snow,” although there wasn’t much… and it kept turning back to rain, so of course nothing stuck. It sure is beautiful, invigorating weather, though. I really love it.
Koreans view “first snow” as a significant event. The kids celebrate it with excitement, and one of our coworkers ran out and bought treats for everyone. I think it’s a fabulous tradition.
I came home and had some rice with spicy instant soup for dinner, and made some ginger tea.
I’ve been thinking about respect.
In the West, respect is something that’s earned. And it can be easily lost.
In the East, I think, respect is something each person is due based on his or her position in the social hierarchy (basically matters of age and, in employment, the chain-of-command). Thus, no one can “lose” respect, ever. Perhaps it could be summed up with a phrase such as, “I have been utterly shamed [or hurt, wounded, etc.] by you, but I still must respect you.”
I think that misunderstandings of how respect works differently may be one of the main causes of disillusionment on the part of Westerners working in Korea, and may be one of the main reasons why Korean bosses view Western employees as impudent, rude, or downright lazy, too. I have never seen my boss more confused and at a loss as when I was trying to explain to him the idea of “earned respect.” And he’s someone who has, in fact, spent time in the U.S. How must it be for Koreans who have never had that experience?
